NATURE AND

DEVELOPMENT
OF PERSONAL
IDENTITY
 LEARNING
OUTCOMES:
1. Summarize by abstracting the Definition of personal identity.
2. Critique by judging the Dynamic interplay between internal/personal
and external/cultural elements.
3. Differentiate by distinguishing the Projective and Defensive functions
of identity.
4. Plan by designing Identity Health.
5. Check by detecting the Personal identity development in children.
6. Explain by constructing ideas about Retail identity.
7. Exemplify by illustrating the Identity profile of influential cultural
elements.
 DEFINITION OF PERSONAL
IDENTITY:
Identity in part as a PROCESS with
A sense of subjective ‘IDENTITY
ongoing change and development.
PERMANENCE'.
For some, the self-hypothesis
For most people, personal
may at times be insecure. While
identity will remain fairly stable,
some may try to change aspects
with gradual modifications
of their identity in response to
across the life cycle resulting
new circumstances, including
from experience; this applies
education, others may resist
especially to those whose self-
change, consciously reinforcing
understanding is confirmed
their established sense of self
positively by others.
and self-image.
A WORKING
DEFINITION OF
PERSONAL
IDENTITY - USEFUL
IN EDUCATION:
as a process in which individuals
draw on both personal / internal
and cultural / external resources for
their self-understanding and self-
expression. There is a dynamic
interplay between the two.
PERSONAL IDENTITY AS A DYNAMIC
INTERPLAY BETWEEN
INTERNAL/PERSONAL AND
EXTERNAL/CULTURAL ELEMENTS:
The externals are relevant to identity when they serve as
reference points and resources for self-understanding and
self-expression – that is, as cultural identity resources.
This view highlights people's integration of ideas, beliefs,
values and images as internal identity resources to make
sense of their lives – that is, making sense of both their
inner experience and their interactions with the world and
people.
Cultural identity resources can be used in two ways:
1. can be assimilated (as noted above), resourcing self-
understanding; and
2. can be utilised for purposes of distinctive self-expression,
that is, helping individuals express themselves in ways they
feel are consistent with their identity.
PERSONAL IDENTITY AS A DYNAMIC
INTERPLAY BETWEEN
INTERNAL/PERSONAL AND
EXTERNAL/CULTURAL ELEMENTS:
This notion of both process and content in identity
suggests that it makes use of external elements of culture
(family life, heroes and heroines, peers, religion, school,
artefacts, work, lifestyle, leisure, television, consumer
products), in relationship with internal elements (needs,
beliefs, values, ideals, attitudes, emotions and moods), to
fashion the ‘internal clothing' of individuals through
which they identify and understand their own
characteristics as a person.

It is meshed with their sense of individuality and

uniqueness. When individuals think about their identity,
these self-defining elements come to mind as reference
points.
PERSONAL IDENTITY AS A DYNAMIC
INTERPLAY BETWEEN
INTERNAL/PERSONAL AND
EXTERNAL/CULTURAL ELEMENTS:
People's personal identities will highlight
different components or dimensions from
their overall identity profile from time to time
according to the situation.
a particular cultural sub-group
identification may become prominent –
such as supporting one's favourite sporting
teams.
This can also take a strong nationalistic
flavour when barracking for one's own
country's representative teams.
 PROJECTIVE AND
DEFENSIVE FUNCTIONS
OF IDENTITY:
Projective function of identity has two aspects:-
1. The visible actual identity
is evident in the behavior of the individual.
it projects or displays the characteristics of the individual (or group).
It describes or publicly announces identity and shows what the individual (or
group) stands for.
How they behave and what they look like are evident to an observer.

2. The Intentional projected identity.

the identity profile that the individual consciously tries to project.
It may or may not be congruent with the visible actual identity.
There may be a considerable discrepancy between the two.
 PROJECTIVE AND
DEFENSIVE FUNCTIONS
OF IDENTITY:
Protective / defensive function of identity:
as it signals the characteristics of the individual, identity definition
provides psychological protection.
includes internal resources that the individual can fall back on in
times of stress or trouble.
It is what literature describes as people's ‘true mettle' or character.
The defensive or protective function of identity comes into play when
under attack, whether physical or psychological or both.
It is internal identity resources that can sustain the individual when
under stress.
 TO BE
CONTINUED...